My Name Is
by ColeInnocenceAngel
Summary: My name is Cole Shaeper. I am 14. I live in District 12. I was abused, loved, used, then tortured. This is my story. Rated M for rape and explicit scences later on. Review Please.
1. Love Lost

_I do not own the Hunger Games. If I did I would freak out._

_I do own the Shaeper family, Melody Harkthropp, and more characters that will be mentioned later._

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**My Name Is…**

My name is Cole Shaeper. I am 14 years old. My home is District 12. My parents are dead. I was assaulted, loved, used, then tortured. This is my story.

I was normal once, with a family and some friends. My family consisted of me, my brother Clay, my dad Rae, and my mom Sue. My family was different than others I knew, since my parents were from the two opposite areas of District 12. My dad was from the Seam, which was obvious since he had ebony hair, coal gray eyes, and tan skin. He worked in the mines for most of the day and when he came home, he would always go out to the Meadow with me and we would play games until dinner. My mom, on the other hand, was from town where her family owned the only music shop District 12 had. She was ashy blonde with pale skin and sapphire blue eyes. My father met her one day when he was walking outside their store and heard the sultry sound of my mom's voice as she sang. My dad peeked through the window and knew that he wanted to marry her. My mom had loved my father for years and was waiting for him to come to her, and he did.

They got married a year later and my mother left the middleclass town to be with my dad. That same year, my mom got pregnant and gave birth to a boy that looked just like his father. They named the boy Clay, after the boy's great grandfather who died in an explosion.

Four years later, they decided that they wanted another child in the family, and my mom became pregnant once more. She gave birth to yet another boy but he was different than the first child. He had his mom's sapphire blue eyes and her ashy blonde hair, while carrying on his dad's tan skin. The boy looked out of place with his mixed genes, but they didn't care. I was that boy. They had decided to name me Cole, after my mother's dad.

Nine years later, I grew to be an outcast at school. My only friends were those that were my brother's friends. These included Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, and Melody Harkthropp. I liked Peeta the most because every time I met him he would be sweet to me, and he was always smiling. It made me happy to see him.

One day in school at around 10:30 A.M., I was in my Mining History class when the alarms began to blare. I remember hearing in this class that if the alarms blare, then that meant that there was an explosion in the mines. I panicked with the thought of losing my father and could hardly process the idea. I remember hearing my brother explain that if this ever happened, to meet him outside of the school.

I half walked, half ran, outside of the building to look for my brother and spotted him next to the bench that lay across the street. I ran to him and he told me that we were to report outside of the mines to our mother. We sprinted off to the mines to locate our mother which was not as hard as I thought it would be as she was standing on the opposite side of the yellow tape, shaking like a leaf. We approached her and waited for the news of who died in the explosion.

It felt like days had gone by while miners were evacuated from the smoking mines. I watched safe families and loved ones running to the men they loved so dearly and I yearned to be like them. Hours had passed by and the elevator started to slow down and carry fewer men until it stopped completely. I looked around to see who else had lost their loved ones and saw Katniss and Gale with their families, all mourning their loss. A peacekeeper approached us and explained to us what had happened. Apparently my father, along with Mr. Hawthorne and Mr. Everdeen, had gone to the deepest sector of the mine, where they were failed to be told explosives were laid. As my father went to break through the stone with his pick axe, he set off the mines, killing him and the other two.

The news devastated my family, but I think it hit my mother the worst. When we got home, she locked herself in her and dad's room and didn't come out until the next day. That day she started to ramble about how it was the Capitol's fault for my father's death. I don't see how that could be possible but, when I tried to explain it to her, she just ignored me and continued to insult them.  
The day when my brother was to get his Medal of Valor for our father came quickly. I sat next to Clay on stage while the seat on the other side of him was empty. It wasn't like our mother to miss an important ceremony like this. She was always so honorable when it came to these things. I just sat down, holding onto my brother as I watched Katniss get the medal for her father. Gale soon followed. When it came time for Clay to receive his, our mother staggered onto the stage with mangled hair and bloodshot eyes looking like one of those mutts that you saw on the Hunger Games every year.  
She spoke but it did not sound like the mother I knew and loved. Every word was cold and menacing. When she finally spoke, it was not words of honor for the ones that died but profanities about the Capitol. She yelled how we should start a rebellion against the Capitol before they killed anyone else. She had finally gone insane.

Peacekeepers approached the stage with loaded guns pointed at our mother. The one that commanded them ordered open fire on our mother. I remember screaming for my mother as they shot her down. Once the gunfire had ceased, I ran to her lifeless body and mourned over the loss of my mother, just like I had when I lost my father.

That night, my brother and I were ordered to move into the community home, a place where kids under the age of 18 lived until they came of age and could leave to live their own lives. Also at the community home, kids were hit and abused. I saw the scars on the kids I knew at school who lived in the community home. I hated the place.

The sudden emotional impact of losing not only our father but our mother as well must have been too much for my brother, because he snuck out the next day after school and didn't come back till late that night. He had what looked like to be a liquor bottle in his hand when he returned. I knew what it was because I remember seeing the mentor for our tributes, Haymitch, always carrying one around, and he was always drunk.

"H-hey Clay. Where have you been?" I asked as curiosity got the best of me.

He started to slowly walk toward me until he was just a few inches away.

"I was just out for a walk. I stopped by the Hob on my way back." The smell of liquor was prominent in his breath.

"Ohh did you get me something?" I asked, hoping that he did.

"Oh, I did. Just close your eyes." I did as told, and he shoved me down onto my bed with my back facing him.

"Wha-Wha-what are you doing Clay?" I was stuttering out of fear of what he was planning.

"Shut up you bitch!" he hissed at me. With that, I bit down on my lip to keep myself silent.

He ripped off my clothes down to my boxers and left me there, shaking even more. I looked over my shoulder to see what he was doing and saw him discarding his clothing into the corner but was still confused. Then suddenly he ripped off the last article of clothing I had and I was bare to the world.  
After about a minute of nothing, I thought he had decided not to do anything. That was, until a pain shot through my body. There was a fiery burning feeling coming from my **. I turned and saw that my brother had penetrated me there. I started to scream, so he forced my head down onto the pillow of my bed. What he didn't realize was that I was being suffocated. The pain got worse and worse as he picked up speed and used more force. Just when I was about to black out from the loss of air, something filled me up inside, and the grip on my head lessened. I lifted my head so that I could finally get air into my lungs.

My brother had collapsed onto my body and was as limp as a rag doll, so I just shoved him off of me and tried to stand. It took me several attempts to stand since my but was hurting from the immense pain I was experiencing. I could feel something sliding down my legs as I took slow steps to retrieve my clothes and when I looked, I saw blood and some white liquid I did not know of. I panicked at the sight of the blood and left to get some paper towels to clean myself I carefully wiped the blood away from my body, I started to hear my brother wake up.

The sound of his mumbling startled me, and I was afraid he would try to do what he had done before again. I quickly dressed, and as soon as my brother sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes, I left the community home. I could hear my brother screaming for me as I ran down the street to the center of town. I turned around and saw Clay chasing after me. The fear inside of me rose drastically and I sprinted off away from him. Even though my brother may be older than me, I was smaller and faster than he ever would be.

I caught sight of the bakery and decided to hide in the back where my brother would not find me.  
As I rushed behind the bakery and into the bushes at the edge of the yard, I heard the footsteps of my brother rush past me into the next yard and then the next until I couldn't hear them anymore. I waited a moment longer before coming out of my hiding spot and looked at the back of the bakery. I could see a light in one of the rooms, and I saw the silhouette of Peeta sitting on his bed looking at a piece of paper with a pencil. I decided to throw a small rock at his window hoping to get his attention.  
It took a few tries to throw it correctly since it was hard to move with the pain of what just happened, but I finally got contact with his window. He looked my way, saw the initial fear on my face and his silhouette disappeared. I thought for a minute that he went to get his mom or dad, but the thought was erased from my mind when I saw him walk out of the back door with nothing but his pajama bottoms on.

"Cole, what are you doing here? You know that you can't leave the community home." He spoke with a soothing tone.  
When he said the word community home, however, the thoughts of what just happened played through my head again and again like a song on repeat. I started to shiver and the tears started to fall.

He looked back at the house to see if we had woken anyone else, but only the light from his room was on.

"It's okay, Cole. Come inside and I'll take you to my room where we can talk." I know he tried to be calm for me but it didn't help. I just nodded in agreement.

Peeta took me inside and led me up to his room where he sat me on his bed and held me in his arms. I was still shivering from the fear of what just happened to me. Peeta started to slowly rock me from side to side and said soothing words to me. I looked up from my hands, where I had a little handful of tears, and looked into his sapphire blue eyes which told me I was safe.

"Tell me what happened Cole. I am here for you," he said quietly. I shook my head thinking that he would look at me like as if I was some ** and abandon me. He added," Please tell me. I want to help you." I looked into his eyes again and knew it was okay. I was afraid at first, but then I told him in a whisper.

"I was raped."

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**A/N: **_Finally, I'm finished with this chapter. Special thanks to my friend TheFantasticPhantomWriter, who helped me with editing this. Please Review and please nice reviews. It is my first fic._


	2. The One Who Cares

**Woohoo! Chapter 2 is finally up and readable.**

**I do want to warn you that Peeta does do only a little swearing in this one.**

**I do not own the Hunger Games. I do own the characters I have created.**

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**Chapter2: The One Who Cares**

The shock on Peeta's face was obvious, and it quickly turned to rage.

"Who did it?" he asked." Who hurt you like this?" He frightened me with the change in mood, and I flinched with the ferocity of his voice. He calmed down when he noticed that he had spooked me, and then tried again. He spoke in a more calming voice. "Please Cole. Tell me who harmed you."

I pondered over it for a minute and decided to tell him everything. I explained to him what my predicament was. I told him how it was Clay who had raped me, and also how Clay had been drunk. The look on Peeta's face just got fiercer and fiercer as I told my story. He clenched his fists and tried to suppress his anger but as I finished my story, Peeta looked like he was about to explode with fury.  
After a few minutes, Peeta had finally calmed down and was steadying his breathing. "Cole. You are staying here tonight and are not going back to that hell hole of a place with him. I'll deal with him at school tomorrow." He tried to stay calm for me and I was glad he did.

"But wait Peeta. What if your parents come in while I'm here? Won't they kick me out and punish you for helping me?" I asked. I was concerned for my friend. I didn't want him to get punished for what I did. I did trespass into their yard and came into their house without his parents knowing.

"I'll talk to them about it at breakfast, but in the meantime I want you to be safe. I care about you." Those words brought tears to my eyes. Someone actually wants me to be safe and cares about me. "Are you okay?" he asked me, concerned. I just nodded again and jumped at him, giving him the biggest hug ever, all while the tears continued to roll down my cheeks. He was caught off guard by my actions, but then hugged me back.

"Thank you Peeta," I said while smiling into his shoulder.

After we broke apart from the embrace, Peeta got up and walked to his dresser to retrieve some clothes for me to wear to bed. He walked back with some spare pajamas he had in his drawers and turned for me to get ready. I was hesitant at first since the pain hadn't subsided yet, but figured it would be best to change. I had to go slow and my breathing hitched whenever I moved too fast. I could hear Peeta swear under his breath.

"I'm done," I said.

Peeta turned back around and was glad to see me out of the tattered, bloody clothing. "Come on Cole. Let's go to bed." I followed him back to his bed and got in. His bed was comfier than the one at the community home. When I was in and lying comfortably on my side, I felt Peeta's arm circle around me and pull me closer to him. I never felt safer in my entire life. "Good night Cole."  
"Good night Peeta." I fell asleep right there in his protective grasp.

_**I was running in the Meadow to my father. "Dad!" I called to him and ran to him as he held out his hands. I was running but I didn't get any closer. I tried jumping at him but that didn't work either. When I got up to look at him again, he was gone and replaced with my mother. She looked like she always did. Her hair was falling at her shoulders and her eyes were shining in the sunlight. I wanted to call out to her but I couldn't speak. I couldn't even breathe. As I stared at my mother, with tears beading in my eyes, her body started to change. Her blonde hair turned ebony and her eyes turned grey as coal. Her skin turned tan and then her face transformed. When the transformation was done, she had transformed into my brother. He stomped toward me with lust in his eyes. I was instantly filled with terror. "Stay away from me, you monster." I ordered him in a shaky voice. He just ignored me and came closer and closer till he was just a mere few feet from me. He lunged at me and pinned me down. "No, Clay! Please stop!" I begged but he just kept going. "NO! NO! NO!"**_

I sat straight up screaming and shivering with horror induced by the nightmare. My screaming must have woken everyone in the house including Peeta. He sprang up and shook his head from my scream, probably thinking that there was an intruder. He saw my condition and then proceeded to comfort my shaking form. "Shhh. Shhh. It's ok Cole. It was only a dream." His words soothed me and I stopped shaking and calmed down.

"Thank you Peeta. I'm sorry that I woke you up. Now I think that I woke up your family too," I said, a little embarrassed from what I had done.

"It's okay, Cole. Just go back to sleep. I'll go tell them what happened. I'll explain to them why you're here while I'm at it, so just stay here and relax." He got up out of the bed and walked out the door to talk to his family.

I was nervous to find out what his parents would say. I remember his dad being nice. He had all the trademark genes of the townspeople, but had burn marks along his body from working at the ovens for years. His mom, on the other hand, was a witch of a woman. I remember seeing Peeta some days at school with black bruises around his eyes from where she hit him. I hated the woman for hurting my friend, but I couldn't do anything about it.

I took the time while Peeta was gone to look around his room. To the left of his bed was a candle on a nightstand that he used for light, since here in District 12 we're lucky to get a few hours of electricity at most. Across from his bed stood his dresser. It was dusty, but at least he had one. I didn't have one while I was at the community home, or at my old house. Next to his dresser stood a full length mirror. I looked into the mirror and saw my reflection. I see what Peeta was talking about. I was a little fit for a nine year old. I had a pretty nice build.

I continued to look around the room. I noticed on the other nightstand that Peeta had a notebook. My curiosity got the best of me again, and I reached for the notebook. I slowly sat down on the bed, still being careful of the pain from earlier, and opened the notebook. I gasped in amazement as I looked upon the marvelous drawings that Peeta had created.

The first photo was of a rose in bloom. He had the shading and details perfect. It looked as though I could pluck the rose from the picture. I turned the pages and saw even more perfect drawings. Once I finished looking at a picture of two kids playing in the Meadow, I turned the page and saw something I thought I wouldn't. It was a picture of Katniss with her sister Prim. She was smiling while Prim was staring at the cakes in the bakery window. It was so beautiful. He got all of the details perfect.

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, so I scrambled to put the notebook back in place as Peeta walked in.

"What did they say Peeta? Please tell me they're not kicking me out. I don't want to go out there where he can get me again." I was pleading with him as the tears started to bead up in my eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down Cole. Everything is okay. They've agreed to let you stay with us as long as you help around the bakery." He had a huge grin plastered on his face. I was overjoyed and the tears rolled down my face, but they weren't tears of sadness, but tears of joy. I leapt into Peeta's arms and hugged him fiercely. I didn't want to let go of him, but I knew I had to. When we broke, he walked over to his dresser and grabbed himself and I both a change of clothes for school. He told me that we would go by the community home later and pick up my clothes.

We both had our showers and reported down stairs. We walked into the kitchen where the rest of his family was waiting patiently. As we approached the table, everyone turned and glanced at me. I thought that they would be furious at me for trespassing into their house, but their expressions were ones of sorrow and grief. An eerie silence filled the room and no one spoke. Only the sound of a flame flickering in the oven could be heard.

Peeta's father was the one that broke the silence. "Good morning boys. Cole, we need to discuss the matter of you staying," he stated plainly. I just nodded in agreement. "You will be staying in Peeta's room for the time being, and when you get home from school you will help out in the kitchen. Peeta will teach you everything you need to know. If you need help, don't hesitate to ask. If we have any problems with you, we will take you back to the community home. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. I understand, and I am grateful that you will let me stay with your family. I will do my best to help."

He just nodded his head in approval. His wife, on the other, just huffed at my statement and walked to the back of the little store. "Don't worry about my wife, Cole. She just doesn't really like people from the Seam. She thinks that they are filthy, but she said she would deal with it unless you act up."  
I just nodded as a sign that I understood. Most of the people in town thought of us from the Seam as filthy beasts. I learned to ignore them over the years, so I just decided to ignore Peeta's mom until she was nicer. Then, said lady came in and placed breakfast on the table. We all ate in silence. As we got up and left the table, I decided to be polite and place the dishes in the kitchen sink before we left. I caught a glimpse of Peeta smiling at me with the sweetest grin I've ever seen, and I knew that I was safe here in this house.

When we finally left, Peeta decided to finally talk to me. "Are you ready for today, Cole?" I gave him a confused look by tilting my head and raising an eyebrow. "Okay, you look like a little puppy Cole, but that's off subject. What we're doing today is confronting Clay for what he did to you." I shook in fear at the thought of Clay hurting my friend.

"No Peeta. Please don't do that. He will try to hurt me for telling you what happened. I just know he will." The fear was obvious because Peeta tried to calm me down with soothing words again.  
"No, he won't hurt you Cole. I'll keep you safe. He won't lay a finger on you and if he does, I will hurt him myself." He wrapped his arms around me while he said these words. I was so glad to have a friend like Peeta.

We walked the rest of the way to school and didn't see Clay anywhere. We walked through the hallways and still didn't see him. We went our separate ways in the when the bell rang and promised to meet each other outside after school.

Later that day right when school ended, I walked through the hallways to where I knew Peeta would be waiting but found myself being dragged from behind into the janitor's closet. The lights were off, so I couldn't see who it was. I was terrified. I was about to call for help when a hand clamped my mouth shut. The other hand flipped on the light switch, and the person standing in front of me was my brother. I started to squirm in his grasp in a poor attempt to get free. He slammed me against the wall to get me to stop moving.

"Hello there brother. How are you doing? I hope that your butt isn't hurting too bad." He had an evil smirk on his face. "How is your boyfriend Peeta by the way?" My eyes widen in fear as he mentions Peeta's name. "Yeah, I know that you're living with him. I saw him take you into his home. Do you think you can get away from me so easily then? Well, too bad now get on your knees."

I don't know why my brother did this to me, but I did as he said and got down on my knees. He started to undo his belt and zipper and was about to pull down his pants when I heard Peeta calling my name.

"Peeta!" I yell, but my brother hits me across the face and shuts me up. A tear starts to fall from my face, and then I hear the footsteps get closer. My brother swears under his breath as the footsteps stop outside of the closet and the door flings open.

Peeta sees my condition and notices the bruise on my face and his face turns red with rage. "You son of a bitch! How dare you do that to your own brother?" He is screaming and a crowd is forming slowly outside the closet. "So you not only rape your brother in the middle of the night, but you also punch your brother and bring him more pain?" The crowd gives a collective gasp and turn toward my brother as they hear what he has done to me.

"What are you talking about? I didn't rape my brother, nor did I punch him," my brother lied.

"Oh yeah. Then why does he have that bruise on his face, and was having trouble walking and sitting?"

"That bruise was probably from earlier today and trouble walking and sitting was probably from slipping and falling on the hard ground." My brother looked confident in his response.

"I don't remember him having that when I saw him before school started. And explain to me why when he came to my house his pants were covered in blood and smelled like semen." The crowd let out another collective gasp and glared at my brother with as much fury as Peeta.

My brother was defeated and he knew it, so he lunged himself at Peeta. They fought for what seemed like hours. I saw Clay lay a punch to Peeta's jaw and heard a popping noise. I was afraid that he had broken Peeta's jaw but thought of the worse that would happen. Just when I thought that it was over, Peeta lunged himself back into the fight.

After a few minutes, Peeta laid the last hit on Clay and my brother went down in defeat. My brother lifted himself off of the ground with the help of the lockers along the walls. He pointed at me and stated menacingly, "This is not over." Then, he ran off, probably to the community home.

Peeta collapsed to the ground from exhaustion and I ran to him. "Peeta! Peeta, are you okay?" I asked hurriedly, afraid that he would black out.

"Yeah, Cole. I'm fine." He was slurring his words, and then he went limp. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose, and he had a black eye. His hand was bent at a weird angle so I believed that my brother had broken his hand. I also knew he had a dislocated jaw from the popping sound. As I looked over his injuries, my fear for his wellbeing coursed through me.

"Please, someone help! Please!" I was screaming and tears were rolling down my face as I the thought of losing him ran through my brain. Katniss told me that her mom would be able to help. I nodded in agreement and proceeded to pick up Peeta the best I could.

With Katniss's help, we lifted Peeta up and took him to Katniss's mother. It took a few minutes to get there, and when we did she told me to go get his family. I nodded to her and ran off to the bakery.  
I swung the door open and yelled out for the family. The family all ran to the door when they heard the panic in my voice.

"What's the matter Cole?" said Marcus, his oldest brother. "Where's Peeta?"

I told them everything that happened, and they didn't waste time closing the bakery to get to Peeta. Even his mother ran to him. When we approached the Everdeen home, Katniss was nowhere in sight and the front door was closed.

Peeta's father knocked on the door and Prim answered the door. "Hello Primrose. May we come in and see my son?" Peeta's father asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Mr. Mellark, but I can't let you in just yet. We are trying to wake him up." She shut the door back and we could hear some shuffling inside.

We all sat outside of the house and waited for permission to enter. I started to cry as the truth ran through me. It was my fault he was like that. It was my fault he had been hurt. It should have been me, not him.

The door to the house flew open again but this time it was Mrs. Everdeen. She told us in sweet, calm voice. "It's going to be okay. He is going to make a full recovery."

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**A/N:**_There you have it. Protective Peeta and abusive Clay. I have to say, yet again, special thanks to TheFantasticPhantomWriter for editing this for me. Please Review. If I get good reviews, I might be able to update faster. Thanks again for reading._


	3. Concerns

_Thanks to those who have reviewed. I am glad that you're liking the story. I would like for those that can to please answer my poll. The sooner i get answers the better I can get this story rolling more. Special thanks again to TheFantasticPhantomWriter. YOU ARE AMAZING. _

_I do not own the Hunger Games or the song. I do own Cole. He's mine._

_Review when you're done reading._

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**Concerns**

I lifted my head out of my hands and took in what Mrs. Everdeen just said. He's going to be fine. I won't lose the one person that cares about my safety. I was so overjoyed at the thought of seeing my friend again that a huge grin stretched across my face. I leapt up from where I was seated on the stones outside of the Everdeen home and gave Mrs. Everdeen the biggest hug I had ever given.

"Ohh, thank you for helping him Mrs. Everdeen! I thought that I had lost him."

I looked up to speak face to face with her and saw her smile gingerly with as much sweetness as my own mother.

"You're very welcome, Cole. I'm glad I could help you," she replied.

"When can we see him?" I was eager to see my friend again, since I knew he was going to be okay.

"How about right now?" I turned to the voice and stood mortified by the sight of the boy in front of me. Yes, he was the Peeta I cared for, but it did not look like him. He had a cast on his left hand from where my brother broke it, and his face was covered in bruises. His right eye was black and starting to swell.

I staggered to him and gently hugged him as to not cause him any pain. The tears started to roll again. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, Peeta. I should have dealt with him myself. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this." I felt guilty for the pain that Peeta was experiencing.

"It's okay, Cole." He lifted my face to look him in the eyes. Those sapphire eyes sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight. "I don't blame you for any of this. I wanted to protect you from the one that hurt you." I just smiled at his words of comfort.

"Now tell me again who did this to my son. I want to turn him in to the peacekeepers for hurting my boy," Peeta's father demanded in a booming voice. He turned to me, expecting me to tell him, but before I could say anything, Peeta interrupted.

"I will tell you everything when we get home. I'm starving." I just nodded my head in agreement not only because I was uncomfortable, but because I was hungry as well.

"Fine. We will head home and eat dinner, but as soon as we're done. You will tell me everything." Peeta's father was serious when it came to his boy's safety. I had to respect him for that. I never saw anyone as responsible and caring as Mr. Mellark. Well, except Peeta of course.

On the walk back to the bakery, I couldn't help having the feeling of being watched. I stopped and looked around to see if someone was watching me, but the people around were too busy with their own activities to acknowledge us.

"Hey Cole!" I snapped back into reality and turned to see Peeta waiting in the doorway for me. "Come on. Don't you want to eat?"

I turned to the bakery and looked back over my shoulder one more time before finally running inside.

"Hey, you okay?" Peeta asked when I approached him.

"Yeah, I'm fine Peeta. I just had the weird feeling that someone was watching us."

"Okay. Come on. Let's eat." He waved his hand in front of me for me to enter.

I walked into the bakery and headed down to the kitchen and once I entered, I saw an entire meal on the table. I was a little confused about why there was stale bread though. I just ignored it for now and told myself to remember to ask Peeta about that later.

It didn't take us long to finish dinner. When everyone had finished and the dishes were put in the sink, Peeta finally spoke.

"Okay, Dad. I will tell you what happened."

Peeta explained what all had happened at school that day. He told how it was Clay who had me down on my knees and was about to sexually assault me again, and how he fought my brother to keep me safe.

"Ohh, so it's this beasts fault then," Peeta's mother hissed. "I knew we shouldn't have let him in our home. He hasn't even stayed one day and look what he has had happen to our son. We should kick him out."

I was frightened by the thought of leaving my friend and going out to my brother. I was so afraid, that I jumped out of my seat and ran to the room I shared with Peeta. I dove under the blankets and started shaking like a leaf. I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway, and they stopped outside of the room.

I could hear the door creak open and I thought for sure that it was Peeta's mom coming to kick me out. I shut my eyes as sheer terror coursed through my body. I wanted to block out the world. I could feel the sheets being lifted off of my body and a pair of hands wrapped around my body. I opened my eyes to see no other than Peeta comforting me again. I buried my face into his chest and wished that I could go back in time to stop this from happening.

After a few minutes of nothing but silence, Peeta finally spoke in a quiet voice. "Hey Cole. I wanted to apologize for my mother's outburst a minute ago. She's still not used to Seam people."

I took my face from his chest, and he wiped away a tear that was rolling down my face. "S-s-so I'm not being kicked out?" I was afraid to leave Peeta. I didn't want to be away from his comforting presence.

He shook his head and looked at me with a grin on his face. "No way. You're staying right here and are not going anywhere. My dad convinced my mom that it was not your fault and that we will turn your brother in for what he has done."

I let out a sigh of relief and my shaking stopped. I cuddled into Peeta for more comfort, and for the warmth he was providing.

"Come on Cole. Let's go back down stairs. I mean, you do have to start helping us with the baking."  
I nod and remember the agreement I had made to be able to live in this house. We got up from the bed and walked down to the bakery to work.

Peeta went and got me an apron from the shelf, while also getting one for himself. I tied the apron around me and followed Peeta to the back.

"Okay. Let's get started."

We worked the next few hours and I got the hand of everything pretty fast. "Wow!" Peeta exclaimed. "You're a fast learner, Cole." I smiled at his compliment, and he grinned back at me.

"Okay boys. We're done for the day," stated Mr. Mellark. "So Peeta. How did Cole do for his first day?"

"He did great Dad. He's a fast learner. It took him only a little bit to get the dough made."

"That's good." Mr. Mellark turned toward me and flashed me a grin. "I guess it was good that he stayed." I smiled genuinely at the hospitality Peeta's father had showed me. "Well boys. For the rest of the day, you can go out if you want to."

"Okay Dad. I think we'll go to the park." He looked at me with a questioning look, and I nodded with approval.

"Alright. Just be home in a hour, okay?"

"Yes sir," Peeta and I said at the same time. After we had taken off our aprons and hung them on their hangers, we ran out to the park to hang out.

When we approached the opening of the park, Peeta and I started to play fight and joke around. I fell down on the ground while trying to catch my breath from our recent play fight. Sure, I went easy on him since he was hurt, but the boy still tired me out.

I glanced up into the trees and saw the grey and black feathers of a mockingjay. "Wow," I said in astonishment. "Peeta, look, a mockingjay." He averted his gaze and looked up into the trees where I was looking and let out a sigh of astonishment as well. "Hey, listen to this." And I began to sing the song that my mother used to sing to me when it was bed time.

Deep in the Meadow, Under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes. When again they open, the sun will rise. Here it is safe. Here it is warm. Here the daisy's guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.

All of the birds had gone quiet to listen to my song. Then, after a polite pause, the mockingjays picked up my song. They bounced the melody around and made an amazing serenade out of it.

"Wow Cole. I didn't know you could sing." Peeta looked at me with great pleasure and looked very relaxed and calm. I started to blush a crimson red. "Don't feel embarrassed. You sang so beautifully, and I was about to fall asleep."

I chuckled. "Thank you Peeta for the compliment. I learned how to sing from my mother." Just mentioning her brought a tear to my eye. "She had the most beautiful voice. My father fell in love with her with her because of it."

"Well, she taught you amazingly." He gave me his trademark grin, and I just smiled right back at him. "I think that we should head home. It's almost been an hour."

"Okay Peeta," I said and started to stand. He did as well.

As we were leaving the park, I heard a rustling from behind us. I spun around on my heel and felt cold fear run through me. I thought that my brother had come to deal with us again. I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped from the sudden confrontation. "Is everything okay? You seem a little frightened."

I looked at the bushes and then back at him. "I'm fine. I'm just a little jumpy from earlier."  
"Okay, I'm just a little concerned. Now let's get home."

We headed out for the bakery and while we walked, we discussed our talents. "Well Peeta, I need to ask you something." He looks at me inquisitively, and I ask him flat out. "Do you like Katniss?"

The shock on his face tells me that what I was thinking was correct. "How did you find out?"

"I saw your drawings of her and her sister. I also noticed on there how you made sure to make everything about her perfect." I admitted to him.

"So you saw those, huh? Well, what did you think of them?" He asked while blushing. I told him that they were beautiful and had amazing details. "Thanks for the compliments Cole."

When we got to the bakery, we headed up stairs to get ready for bed. We threw on our pajamas and got into bed. I heard some rummaging beside me and turned to see Peeta going through his nightstand. "What are you doing, Peeta?"

"I'm looking for a pencil. I'm about to draw something so just go back to sleep, okay?" I just nod and doze off again.

**I'm in the woods outside of District 12. I see the birds up in the trees. I see mockingjays, robins, and blue birds. They are all singing serenades, airs, and valley songs. They sound so beautiful. I relax in the shade of a willow tree and start to doze off. Then the music stops all at once. It doesn't just die of slowly. I hear the footsteps. Two pairs of them. They are running to the opening where I am laying. The two people burst out into the opening. It's Peeta and Clay. Peeta is still covered in bruises and his arm is still broken, but my brother is in perfect condition. He doesn't have a single bruise on him. Peeta falls to the ground and my brother pounces on him like a cheetah on a gazelle. He is punching Peeta mercilessly, causing more bruises and blood to flow. I want to scream and get up to stop him, but my voice is gone and my body is immobile. All I can do is watch the horrific scene in front of me. Then my brother pulls out a blade that was hidden from my sight. I know what he is going to do but I can't do anything about it. I see Peeta struggling and begging Clay not to hurt him. Peeta then glances at me and I see the tears roll. That is when the blade enters him.**

"Noooooo!" I yelled while I woke up. I noticed Peeta shoot up again from my scream and saw that he is ok. I wrapped my arms around him and never let go.

"It's okay Cole. It was just a dream." He held me in his grip and rubbed my back. I found it comforting and started to relax. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Come on Cole. If you talk about it then it will stop happening."

I let out a shaky breath and decided to tell him. "I had a nightmare where I was in the woods outside of the district. I was listening to the birds' melodious voices. Then the birds stopped, and you and Clay burst into the opening. You fell and he attacked you. You got more bruises and started bleeding worse. Then Clay pulled out the blade and..." The tears were beading at my eyes.

"It's okay. I'm fine and you're here. Now let's go back to sleep." He started to lie down again while I was still in his arms and I felt safer. For the rest of the night, I didn't have another nightmare.

When I woke up the next day, I was relieved that it was Saturday. It meant that we didn't have to go to school or really leave the bakery. I could spend the whole day working with Peeta and his family.

Peeta had started to wake up when I sat up. "Good morning. Did you sleep better after the nightmare?" He looked at me with concern. I knew he wanted me to stop worrying and feel safe. I did feel safe around him, but I was still worried about our safety with my brother still out there.

"Good morning, Peeta. Yes I did sleep better because of you. Thank you." I grinned and hugged him as my thanks.  
"You're welcome." He hugged me back, and then we just sat there a minute for him to fully wake up. "Do you want to see what I drew last night?"

I was excited to see his drawing. I loved the ones before and knew that I would love this one as well. "Sure, I would love to see it."

He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his notebook from where he placed it. He opened it up and turned to the picture he had drawn. I sat there shocked at what he had drawn. It was me. He drew me asleep in the meadow outside at the edge of the Seam. Dandelions were around my body and gave me a look of innocence. It was beautiful.

"What do you think?" he asked as he saw my expression.

I snapped out of my trance from seeing myself on the paper and answered him. "I love it Peeta. It's marvelous. May I ask you a question though?" He looked at me confused. "Why do I look so innocent?"

"Because you are, Cole. You do not deserve what has happened to you. You deserve to be safe. "He was being sincere, and I knew that he was telling the truth.

I hugged him again and smiled at his sincerity. "Thanks. I'm happy you said that. It makes me feel loved."

He hugged me back, and then, when we were done, we headed down for breakfast. When we got down to the dining area, we heard a discussion between Peeta's parents.  
"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Peeta asked questioningly.

They took their attention away from each other and looked at us. Peeta's mother walked off into the back of the shop and you could hear her scream out of hatred. Peeta's father had a look of annoyance on his face. He took in a deep breath and motioned for us to sit at the table. After a few minutes of silence, Peeta's father finally spoke.

"No it is not okay," he said. "I am sorry to say that Cole's brother has escaped."

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**A/N:**_ There you have it. I personally love the compassion that Peeta has for his friend. Again please answer my poll. Thank you. ~;3~_


	4. UPDATE DELAY

I am sorry to announce that it may be a week (or so) before I can update Chapter 4. I have had a lot of stuff happening lately.

My great grandma was in the hospital this weekend and is now in the hospice house so I spent time with my mother to make sure she was ok. Also my boyfriend has gone into a depression because he is losing his great grandma as well and I want to be there for him so I'm sorry for the delay.

I will announce though that I am upset that people are not answering my poll. If you all could please answer my poll, then I will be able to smoothly make it to Chapter 6 or so (hopefully). So please answer the poll.

Again I'm sorry for the delay and thanks for understanding.


	5. Back On!

**Back On!**

I am back and saying sorry for the long delay. I have had a lot of crap going on these weeks. It deals with me and my brother and I also broke up with my ex-boyfriend and my great grandma passed away.

I am glad to say that the poll has come to a close now. I am sorry to say though that even though you all wanted Cole to be with Peeta, it will not happen. I have a plan with Cole and the boy that is soon to come. To tell the truth I finally decided that I didn't want to stray far from the book for the first part until.

I will try my hardest to update when I can, but it is going to be hard to when I go back to school. But I will try my hardest to actually update. Well I hope you all are looking forward for the next update and I will try to have it done by the end of the weekend.

Your cat with the bread,

~CatnipBread~ :3


	6. Fears Relieved

_Finally, I have chapter 4 up and going._

_This is a big chapter for this section. I hope that you like it._

_I do not own Hunger Games or anything from the book or movie. I do own Cole Shaeper, Clay Shaeper, and more characters to come. Review Please._

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**Chapter 4: Fears Relieved**

I was terrified as the realization of what Mr. Mellark said hit me. _**He got away and was no where to be found. What if he was waiting for me to be alone? What if he was waiting for Peeta to be alone?**_ I was scrambling with words to ask Mr. Mellark, but Peeta beat me to them.

"He got away? How did he get away?" Peeta asked with an expression of shock across his face.

"We don't know exactly how he got away," explained Mr. Mellark. "But what we do know is that he knocked out the peacekeepers that were forcing him to the Justice Building, and also that he has been well hidden."

I gasped at the sudden realization of the previous day. How I had the feeling of eyes burning at the back of my head when we headed back to the bakery, and also how I heard the rustling in the bushes at the park. My brother was stalking me like I was prey.

I started shaking like a newborn pup outside in the winter from the sheer terror of it all.

"Hey, Cole. Are you okay?" Peeta asked me, concerned. I shook my head slowly. "Well, what's wrong buddy? We're here to help you. You can trust us."

I took a deep, shaky breath and began to explain to them what was wrong.

"I th-think that my brother is stalking me. I had the feeling of being watched yesterday while we were walking back here to the bakery. I-I also heard rustling while Peeta and I were at the park. It didn't sound like something small, like a rabbit or squirrel. It sounded bigger. I'm scared that he will try to hurt me or Peeta again." I was stammering as the fear rattled me, and tears were stinging my eyes again.

"It will be okay. He won't risk blowing his cover to hurt us. Trust me. We're safe here." As Peeta was saying this, he wrapped his arms around me until I finally calmed down.

After we broke from the embrace, I looked up to his face and noticed that the swelling over his eye had died down, and the bruises had begun to heal. He looked like the Peeta I was used to again.

"Thanks Peeta. You always know what to say to make me feel better." A small smile crawled onto my face.

"You're welcome, Cole." He ruffled my blonde hair into a mess, and turned to his father to ask a question. "What do we need to do now that we know that Clay has escaped?"

"I think that we should keep you two here," stated Mr. Mellark, "We don't need either of you getting hurt again, do we?" He was such a protective father, even to child that was not his own. I respected him for that and it made me think of how Peeta was like his father.

Peeta and I both nodded in agreement and went to put on our aprons when we were suddenly stopped by Peeta's older brother, Mark. He was three years older than Peeta and was obviously stronger than Peeta based on his looks. _**Wait. Why am I checking out Peeta's brother?**_ I was roused from my thoughts when Mark talked to us in a relaxing tone.

"You two have been through enough these past two days, so Nate and I will do your work for today." He smiled sincerely at me when he was finished and signaled towards Nate to come help him. Nate was Peeta's second oldest brother and looked almost exactly like Mark except that he had less blisters and had a smaller muscle mass. _**There I go again checking out Peeta's brother. What is with me?**_

"Thanks you two. That is really nice of you," Peeta stated to his brothers, then turned to me to ask a question. "So what do you think we should do today then?"

I didn't really know what to do since we didn't have to work. I pondered for a moment, going through the options. "We could ask your father if it is safe to go visit Katniss. She might want to know if you are okay and her mom might want to give you a check." I didn't want to really go out there, but I didn't want to stay here bored and probably get yelled at by Peeta's mom. I actually did want to take Peeta for a check up though.

"I don't know, Cole," he said nervously. "He did say that we should stay here."

He did have a point there, but I REALLY didn't want to be cooped up in this house all day long. I didn't like the way Mrs. Mellark constantly yelled at us if we made a mistake, and I also didn't like the fights I would hear occasionally. "We won't know until we ask him," I said, determined on the outcome.

Peeta let out an exasperated sigh of defeat and followed me to the back of the shop, where we would find his father. His father was making some of his delicious raisin and sugar cookies when we found him. The aroma from the baking cookies danced in the air, and I became mesmerized by the alluring smell.

"Mr. Mellark, may I ask a question?" I addressed him after I came down from my cookie high.

"Sure my good boy. Go on ahead," he said while rubbing the flour off his hands onto his white apron.

"With your permission, may Peeta and I go to the Everdeen home to inform them that Peeta is making good progress in his healing?" I asked. I may just be a little kid, but my mom did teach me manners.

"I don't know now, Cole," he stated almost exactly like Peeta. "With your brother out and about, you and Peeta would be in serious danger."

He stopped and thought over it for a few minutes and finally gave me an answer.

"I guess I will permit it as long as you both take extra precaution over your safety."

"Thanks Mr. Mellark," I said while throwing my arms around him in a big hug.

He was hesitant at first but eventually embraced me back. "You're welcome boy. "

Peeta and I went upstairs to change into our sweaters since the harsh winter air was extremely cold outside, and then headed to the Everdeen home. As we walked through the town to the Seam, the feeling of being watched came back to me and I guess Peeta noticed me tense up because he put a protective arm around my shoulders.

"It'll be okay. If he is here, he won't risk attacking us out in the open," he soothed me. I just nodded in response and relaxed.

Once we arrived at the Everdeen's, I didn't hear any sound. Peeta knocked on the front door a few times but no answer. He knocked again but got the same result.

"I guess that they aren't home," Peeta stated with a look of relief on his face. I think it was because he didn't want to see Katniss. He was in love with her anyways.

I didn't want to walk back home so I told Peeta to wait there. I walked around the building to the back door and looked through the screen into the house but saw no one inside. I figured that Mrs. Everdeen and Prim went to town or the Hob to pick up a few things. I then remembered something. Peeta once told me that Katniss went into the forest everyday to hunt down food for her family and would trade at the Hob and with the natives. I decided to go into the eerie deciduous forest in search of her.

"Hey, Cole!" Peeta shouted. "Is everything okay over there?"

I heard his footsteps as he stepped on every branch in his path. Crap! I thought as the footsteps got louder and louder. I knew it was now or never to run to the forest, so I ran off to the fence.

"Cole!" Peeta yelled from behind me. "Stop! Don't go there! It's not safe!"

I heard him chasing me so I picked up my pace as I sprinted to the hole in the fence I noticed was hidden behind a shrub. Just as soon as I ducked under the fence, I heard Peeta stop and swear under his breath.

"Please come back over here." His eyes were pleading with me. "I don't want you to get hurt or get in trouble."

"I can't Peeta. Not right now. I'm going to find Katniss. We need her here in case we have unwanted company," I said genuinely.

He huffed out in defeat again "Ok. Just promise me that you will be cautious. I don't want you to get hurt out there. I will be waiting back at Katniss's house"

"Ok I promise, Peeta." And with that, I turned and walked deeper into the dense forest.

I walked deeper and deeper into the forest for what felt like hours but it was just mere minutes. I could tell by the location of the sun. I heard a creature's footsteps from the inside of a dark, dank cave that I was approaching and slowly stepped back in case I needed to run. The footsteps got louder, so I turned and was about to leave until something heavy pounced onto my back. When I landed on the damp, leaf covered ground, all of the breathe was knocked out of my lungs by the weight of the unforeseen creature.

"Hello brother," hissed Clay. "Long time no see."

"Wha-wha-what do you want Clay?" I was stammering from the terror of being raped or worse.

"Ohh you know what I want Cole." I could feel his breathe on the back of my neck. "Now either you cooperate with me or we do this the hard way." With that, he lifted me and slammed be hard against the sodden ground to emphasize his point.

He starts to undress and flips me over to do the same, and I start to struggle to get free. He punched me in the gut to get me to stop resisting and continued undressing me. I took this time to look at my brother. He did not look human. His eyes were blood red, and he smelt like he had not bathed in days. His ebony brunette hair was mangled and covered in blood from something I did not know. He had scratches and bruises along his body. He looked like a wild beast on the hunt, and I was his next prey. I shivered in terror as I felt like he was going to have his way with me then eat me like some little piece of meat.

"Looks like someone is eager," he chuckled to himself.

"No I'm not!" I yelled just in case Katniss was close by to intervene.

My brother caught on quickly and punched me in the throat to silence me. I tried screaming for help but it only came out as a huff.

"You think that you can get the attention of anyone out here?" He laughed maniacally. "There is no one here to help you." With that said he dove down at me and removed my last article of clothing.

Whenever I was fully exposed, he placed his knees on my shoulders. "Suck," he demanded while pointing to his erect member. I shook my head in defiance but that just resulted in me getting a blow to the head.

He ordered again but I wasn't going to give in to his demands. This resulted in another blow to the head but much harder.

"Fine you stubborn bitch," Clay hissed into my ear. "If you won't satisfy me that way…" He dragged off to give it the effect he wanted and it did.

My eyes grew to the size of saucers in fear of what my brother was getting at. I began to struggle again to get away but he wouldn't loosen his grip. I was certain he was going to hurt me again that I tried to scream one last time for help.

"Help!" I tried but it only came out as a hoarse whisper. It apparently did not work because my brother was continuing with his motions.

He was about to penetrate me until I heard him scream in pain. I looked up at him and noticed that he had an arrow lodged in his leg. I took that moment to get up and away from him but he grabbed my leg just as I was running, causing me to fall on to the ground.

"You're not getting away from me that easily you punk," growled Clay.

"Let him go, Clay" yelled a familiar voice. I looked around to locate the owner of the voice, I couldn't find them.

"No!" Clay yelled. "If I go, Cole is going with me." He looked serious and yanked the arrow out of his leg and started dragging me closer to his body and the arrow. I tried to crawl away from him, whimpering and my life flashed before my eyes. I remember my dad, laughing as my mother freaked out from seeing a rat crawl across her foot. His laugh was warm and genuine. I also remember my mother singing lullabies to me when I was 5. She would always sing to me when I was frightened by a thunderstorm or a loud noise. I remember when my brother actually cared about my well being. He attacked this one guy whenever he approached me and threatened me because I was stealing all of the attention from him. Then, I remember Peeta. I remember him wrapping his arms around me when I cried. I remember him taking care of me when all of this started. I remember my promise I made to him. I had to keep it.

"Let go of me!" I yelled as I kicked him in the crotch. He groaned in pain and dropped both the arrow and my leg. I ran from his grasp and to the trees to get away from him.

He recovered from the injury and became enraged. "You little bitch," he roared. "I'm going to fu-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence when the arrow pierced his stomach. He bent forward into the arrow and a pool of blood had formed around his body. I walked over to him when I thought that it was safe until I heard a rustling in the leaves up in the trees.

Katniss landed just a few feet behind my brother with an evergreen wood, hand made bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. A boy followed behind her, and he looked almost like Katniss. He had the ebony brunette hair, tan skin, and coal grey like all of the people from the Seam do, but the only real difference is that he was a few inches than Katniss. I remember him now. It's Gale Hawthorne. I wonder what he is doing here with Katniss.

"Cole," Katniss addressed me. "What are you doing in here? It isn't safe. I would expect you to be with Peeta." She was truly concerned with my safety like Peeta was. I now see why Peeta liked her so much. They were alike in some ways.

"I came in here looking for you, Katniss," I said. "I was hoping to find you in case Cole came to your house. Peeta and I were going to your home for him to have a checkup, but no body was home. I remember Peeta telling me that you went hunting in the woods and decided to come find you."

"Well you really should go back to Peeta. He is probably worried sick about you." She said genuinely.

I nodded my head in agreement and got redressed. I looked back at my brother one last time and the memory of him protecting me came back. I walked over to his now lifeless corpse and took a good look at him. He was not the brother I grew up to love. He was a beast that was created from the sudden loss of his two parents.

_**I will not let him die looking like this. **_I thought to myself. I do not want him dying looking like something he should not be.

"Katniss, is there a pond anywhere near here?" I ask abruptly.

"Yea there is one just a short walk away from here. Why?"

"Can you help me take my brother's body to the lake? I want to clean him up. He should not die looking like a beast. Even though he may have raped and hurt me, he is still my brother. He protected me whenever I was threatened. He would hold me in his arms when I was scared. He would always play games with me when we came home. He was more than my brother. He was my best friend, and I will miss seeing his warm smile in the cold rain."

"Sure Cole." She said with a sweet smile on her face. "Gale, can you help us take him to the lake?" she asked him.

He didn't say a word, but he nodded his head in agreement. He helped me and Katniss lift Clay up and we carried him for a few minute until we got to a small pond.

It was a beautiful oasis like area. The pond water looked to be shining like diamonds and along the banks I could see a bunch of yellow flowers. I remember them being daisies, and my dad would always buy them from the Hob for my mother. I told them to place him in the bunch of daisies and let me clean up my brother. When they placed him down, they gave me some space but didn't fully leave in case something like a bear or wild dog came.

I scooped up a few handfuls of water and proceeded to clean his ebony locks. I got the blood out and brushed it with my hands. I then continued to clean his body while singing the lullaby that my mother sang.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again the open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daises guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

With that last line sung, I had finally finished cleaning Clay. He looked like my brother again. Not like the drunk who raped me nights ago. Not the brute that hurt Peeta just a few days at school. Not the beast that almost raped me and try to kill me. He was my brother again.

The tears started to cascade down my face like a waterfall now as I realized that I just lost my last family member. I lost my family to the grim reaper and he would be after me next, but I would not let him have me. I would live my life for them. They would want me to continue and not worry. I wiped away the tears and nodded to Katniss and Gale, which signaled that I was ok. They nodded in understanding and turned to head back to District 12. Before I walked back into the woods, I turned around for one last look at my brother. I then took the three middle fingers of my left hand to my lips and held it out to him before I sprinted to catch up with the other two.

When we got to the fence, I ducked through the hole and approached Katniss's home. I did not see Peeta but I did hear talking within the home. We walked into the home and found Peeta on the counter shirtless and Mrs. Everdeen was checking his bruises. Peeta looked at us when we walked in and looked relieved that I'm back. When Mrs. Everdeen told him that she was done, Peeta immediately walked to me and wrapped his arms around me, and I returned the embrace.

"Ohh Cole. I was so scared." He looked down at me and noticed the bruises on my face. "What happened, Cole?"

I took a deep breathe and released it before I told him. "Peeta. My brother is dead."

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_There you have it. Clay is dead. Cole is safe. What happens now? You will find out. I will warn you that in the next chapter there will be a time shift in it. That is all I am telling you. I love the reviews that I have got and hope to get more._

_Thanks for reading._


	7. Left Behind

_Wooohoooo. Finally done with Chapter 5. I'm glad to have finally done this. _

_I want to thank fadi25402702. Thank you for all of your criticizms. I don't know if that's how you spell it. Lol_

_I own nothing except for Cole, Clay, and more characters that will come later._

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**Chapter 5: Left Behind**

"He's dead. How?" Peeta asked with a shocked expression on his face.

I told him how Clay had attacked me while searching for Katniss and how Clay was going to rape me again until Katniss and Gale interfered. I also told him how we took him to a lake located in the forest, and that I cleaned him up before leaving.

Peeta must have noticed me shaking because when I got done explaining he wrapped his arms around me and told me to calm down and that everything will be okay.

I nodded my head and turned to Mrs. Everdeen. "So how is he doing? Are his injuries healing just fine?" I wanted to find out and go home since this is the main reason why we left in the first place.

"He is doing fine Cole. Even though it has only been a few days, he is healing quite well. I would say that in a few weeks he will be back to normal."

I sighed in relief. **At least something good has happened today. **"Thank you Mrs. Everdeen. Well we better get home to let them know that we are okay. We will see you later in the week." With that said, Peeta grabbed his shirt and we headed back to the bakery.

When we approached the bakery, we noticed that the closed sign was up and just walked in to see everyone at the dinner table worried. Well, everyone except for Peeta's mother of course. We approached the table and all eyes turned to us. Peeta's father got up and he embraced me and Peeta in a huge bear hug.

"I was so worried about you two. I thought that one of you was going to get hurt." He then looks at me and notices the bruises. "And I believe that what I thought was correct. What happened to you, Cole?"

I explained it all to the family, and they all looked relieved to know that Clay was gone. I had started to look sad again since I had lost my only brother. When they all noticed my condition, they all calmed down and tried to give me support. I was thankful that they were trying to help me.

Thinking about my brother must have sparked something in my memory because I remember that I have not collected my things from the community home yet.

"Mr. Mellark." I addressed him. "With your permission, may we head over to the community home to get me and my brother's belongings?"

"Sure my boy. Now that Clay isn't around to do you harm, I think that it is safe for you and Peeta to do so."

I nodded my head in appreciation and began to walk to the exit with Peeta. He stopped me at the door and began to ask a question but I interrupted him.

"Peeta, I know what you are going to ask and yes I'm fine. I won't let the loss of Clay stop me from living my life. He and my parents would want me to continue so let's go to the community home."

I saw a grin appear on his face and he just nodded. After that, we left to go to the community home. When we approached the broken down shed that was the community home, I had a chill run up my spine. I always hated this place but I needed to get my things from it.

Peeta grasped my hand when he saw how uncomfortable I was. It meant that I had his support and that calmed me down enough to walk in. When we entered the building, we approached the front desk where a plump lady with dark circles under her eyes and wrinkles all on her face sat. I remembered her name to be Lavelle. She was the one who ran the place. My first night I was here, before I was raped, I remember seeing her beat one of the other kids just because he accidently broke a vase. The boy looked to only be around 6. I hated the woman for doing that to innocent children.

We approached the lady and Peeta spoke towards her. "Hello Madame. My name is Peeta and this is Cole. He was here a few days ago with his brother Clay, but then horrible things happened. My family has decided to take Cole in as part of our family and his brother has been reported as dead, so we have come to retrieve some of Cole's things. If that is okay?"

The lady looked towards Peeta with a look of what I think is approval and nods, but turned to me and I see malice. I turn away as quickly as I can and walk down the hallway to where I used to stay. As we walked down the hallway, I heard the doors creep open and saw eyes trained on us. Out of one of the doors came the little boy that got hit the day of my rape. He walked over to me and I stopped to look at him. I got down on my knees and was surprised when the boy hugged me. I returned the embrace and let go off him to look at him.

I remembered his name to be Logan. He lost his mother last year when she went into the woods. They said that she thought she saw apples and went to retrieve one only to be attacked by a lynx. He lost his father a few months later. His father was in the Hob one day and approached the fruit stall. In there was a lonesome apple that reminded him of his wife, and he was intending to get it for Logan. The only problem was that someone else wanted the apple as well. That led them to break out into a fight and the other man finished it when he grabbed a knife from the cooking area and stabbed Logan's father in the lung. They tried to rush him to Mrs. Everdeen but when they got there, it was already too late. Logan was sent to the community that night. I felt sorry for the boy.

"Logan. I want you to know that you will find a home. I know that you will." I said to show him that I believe in him. I then kiss him on the forehead. I look at him and see a smile on his face with tears gliding down his cheeks.

"Thank you, Cole" He then jumped into my arms one last time. We sat there for a minute until I told him that I had to go, but I promised that I would check up on him every once in a while. He nodded in understanding and ran back to his room.

"You know, Cole. You will make a great father when you grow up." Peeta stated while smiling at me. He offered me his hand to help me up, and I accepted the offer.

"Thank you, Peeta. You will make one too." I said and continued to walk to my old room. When we got there, I opened the door to the room. The room was as bad as I remember it. There was a hole in the wall, cracks on the floor as well as dried blood. The sight of the blood makes me shake again and Peeta gets in front of me to block the sight of the blood. I thanked him and walked to the drawers located next to the bed. I pulled out the suitcase I remember being under the bed and open it. I also opened the drawers and started to pile the stuff into the suitcase until I heard a clatter on the floor. I look down to find my mother's old music note necklace. It's like a locket because you can open it up and put pictures inside of it. I do so and notice the pictures inside of it. On one half is my father and mother. They are happily smiling and my father has an arm wrapped around my mom. On the other half is a picture of me as a baby, and I'm in my brother's arms. He looks younger and is holding me with so much love and care.

I fell to my knees and started bawling. This necklace brought back so many memories of my family. I felt an arm wrap around me and I opened my eyes to see Peeta there holding me in his arms. I instantly calmed down and explained to him what was wrong.

"I'm fine, Peeta. It is just that this was my mom's necklace. This music note here is a locket and inside are two pictures of all of us. It just really got me but now I'm okay so you don't have to worry." I said while wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Ok, Cole. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Peeta said in a soothing tone. He then stood and finished packing for me. I put the necklace around my neck and grabbed the now full suitcase and left the community home to my new home with Peeta and his family.

I lived with the Mellark's for years, and I loved it there. Everyday I got to help Peeta and his family in the bakery after school, and then Peeta and I would go out to the park where we would relax. Peeta healed fast and was back to regular health in no time, like Mrs. Everdeen said he would.

It had been five years since the loss of my family and I had been doing fine. I woke up one day and was eager to get it over with. It was the day of the Reaping. The Reaping is when the Capitol, which rules over all of Panem, would select one male and one female tribute from each of the 12 Districts to fight to the death for the citizens' amusement.

I hated this day because it would be my first time to be entered into the Reaping. Peeta's would be in there five times seeing how he is 16. I got up sluggishly and roused Peeta up before his mother had time to yell at him.

"Come on, Peeta. It's time to get up. It's Reaping day." I said sweetly into his ear while shaking his body.

"Ughhhh. Ok, Cole. I'm awake." He said while rubbing his eyes to fully wake him up. He sat up and stretched while letting out a big yawn. When he finished, he proceeded to rustle my hair into a bigger mess than it was and I smiled while he was doing it.

"Come on, Peeta. Let's get ready and then head down before your mom has a meltdown." That got a laugh out of Peeta, and we went on ahead to get ready.

After we finished getting dressed, we headed down stairs where Peeta's family was waiting to eat breakfast. We sat around the table in silence while Mrs. Mellark got breakfast set on the table. We ate in silence for a little while until Mr. Mellark broke the silence.

"Well today is the day. I wanted to say good luck to you, Peeta, and you as well, Cole. With enough luck, we won't see one of you two on that stage. We haven't had to see Nate or Mark go up there, so I hope that I don't see either of you two up there."

"Thanks dad. That means a lot to hear you say that. I'm sure that we will be fine though. There are other guys out there who have there names in there more than us." Peeta said confidently.

"Yea, he is right Mr. Mellark. There guys who have there names in there more than us, so I believe that we will be fine." I said just as confidently.

"Don't get to comfortable boys. I remember years ago when my friend Laden had been drawn for the reaping and he was the exact same age as Cole. The point is don't get to comfortable." He warned.

Peeta and I both nodded in understanding and got up to head out to the park. It is something Peeta and I did every year before the Reaping. We did it just in case Peeta had been picked and luckily so far he hasn't been picked. When we arrived, we went to our usual hang out spot.

"Hey, Peeta. Can I tell you something?" I asked nervously.

"Sure, Cole. What is it?"

"I'm really scared of being reaped. I mean I don't want to leave you or your family. All of you have come to be my new family. If I leave you, I'm afraid that I would never see you again. I am also scared that you could be picked. I don't want to lose you Peeta. You have become my older brother and I don't want you to go. If I lost you, I wouldn't be the same." That is where I broke down into tears. Just thinking of losing Peeta or his family had a huge effect on me.

In an instant, Peeta was holding me in his arms and was comforting me. "Cole, don't think like that. If you get chosen, I would volunteer for you. You are too innocent to go into their games. Also if I do get picked, I would do whatever it takes to come back to you. Don't you worry, Cole." That comforted me enough to stop shaking and crying. "Come on. Let's go get this reaping over with."

He helped me up, and we headed to the Reaping.

As we walked to the Justice Building, I noticed Katniss walking hand in hand with Gale and realized that they were together. Peeta saw me staring and followed my gaze to find Katniss with the male hunter. The look on Peeta's face was that of hurt and understanding.

"Are you going to be ok, Peeta?" I asked, concern plastered on my face.

"You know, Cole. I think that I will be ok. She never showed any interest in me, and even though I thought I loved her, I never had the want to kiss her. You don't have to worry about me." He said to me in a relaxed tone.

I put him into a slight embrace and spoke into his ear. "Ok, Peeta. I just wanted to make sure that you were not heartbroken."

When we broke from the embrace, I saw a smile plastered on his face and felt one crawl onto mine as well. We continued to walk to the Reaping and approached the registration table. The man at the table had a little needle, which he used to extract some blood from me, and then allowed me to enter. Peeta did the same and walked in behind me. We had to go our separate ways into our respected groups. I was in a group filled with the other twelve year old boys, which was located at the back. I looked forward and tried to find Peeta in the group of sixteen year old boys. When I finally found him, we held each other's gaze and I mouthed 'I'm scared' to him. He mouthed back 'It will be fine', and I just nodded and calmed down.

It wasn't long after that when District 12's escort, Effie Trinket, approached the microphone with her shoes clipping with every step she took.

"Welcome one and all to the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games." She said with her chirpy, annoying voice. "Let's start off showing you the video provided by the Capitol."

With that said, the same video from years before began to play on the big screens located on both sides of the building. I completely ignored the video and took in Effie's outfit this year. She had on a cotton candy pink wig with matching lipstick. She was wearing a skirt that sparkled different shades of pink when hit by the sunlight. I snapped back into reality when I heard the ending of the video and Effie's clapping.

"Now let's pick the tributes for this year's games, and may the odds be ever in your favor." I became scared again. "Ladies first." She said while approaching the orb on her left which held the names of the girls. She took her time in grabbing one and when she finally did, she clipped her way back to the microphone. "Your female tribute for the games is… Primrose Everdeen!"

The place fell silent as the name of the beloved Seam girl is called. She walked out of the group of girls across the aisle from me, and I saw the look of terror on her face. She was wearing a sky blue dress the poked out in the back and her hair was up in pigtails. She slowly crept her way to the stage and when she was just a few feet away from the stage someone yelled.

"Prim!" I located the source of the scream and saw it to be Katniss. She ran off to her sister and stepped in front of her and surprised us all with what she says. "I volunteer as tribute."

I heard a collective gasp from the group of people behind us but was drawn back to the front when Prim started screaming. I see Gale walk up and take Prim away from Katniss. I see him mouth something, but I couldn't hear him.

Effie asked for Katniss's name and Katniss gave it to her. "I bet my buttons that that was your little sister. Ok give a hand of applause to your female tribute for District 12." None of us clapped but instead to the three middle fingers of our left hands and presented it to Katniss.

Effie must have been uncomfortable because she rushed over to the boys' orb without us realizing it and began speaking again. "Now your male tribute for District 12 is Peeta Mellark."

Peeta was stunned at first when he heard his name being called but finally started to move to the stage.

"Peeta no!" I yelled while shoving my way out of my group. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around him. "Peeta you can't go. I don't want you to leave me." The tears were cascading down my face and I didn't care that people saw me.

He returned the embrace while trying to comfort me. "Cole, I have to go. I will return to you. I promise you this." He let me go and continued up to the stage where I thought I saw tears in Effie's eyes.

She seemed to sniffle before continuing with her program. "There you have it. Your tributes for the 74th Hunger Games. Shake hands you two and follow me into the Justice Building." The two did so and followed slowly.

As I entered the Justice Building, I saw Peeta's family leave his room and head down the hallway except for his father. His father went into what I thought was Katniss's room. I walked up to Peeta's room and entered slowly. Upon entering, I saw Peeta crying on the loveseat. I had never seen Peeta cry before. He always was strong for me. He looked up and looked at me upon me entering. He got up and opened his arms which I quickly ran into. We just stood that way for a few minutes until we heard the Peacekeeper say that we had five minutes left.

"Peeta, I want you to come back to me. I don't want them to change you and you have to promise me that." I said while whipping the tears from my face.

"I know, Cole. I promise you that I will come back and that they won't change me. No matter what happens I will still be the Peeta you know." He says and hugs me again.

When we break from the embrace, I proceeded to take of my necklace and hand it to him. "Here, Peeta, I want you to have this as your token. When you see it, I hope it reminds you of me." While I was talking, I put the necklace around his neck.

"I will remember you, Cole, no matter what happens." He wraps me in his arms for the last time then I'm ushered out of the room by the Peacekeeper.

I walked to the train station after leaving the Justice Building and waited to see Peeta before he left. A few minutes later, Peeta, Katniss, and Effie arrived and I got one last look at Peeta. His eyes were red and I could see the trails of dried tears. He smiled at me and boarded the train followed by Effie and Katniss.

As the train started to leave, I saw Peeta looking at me through the window and mouthed the words 'I love you.'

I smiled and mouthed words back. 'I love you too and stay safe.' Then the train was gone and out of sight. I had already started to feel lonely until I heard someone talking to me.

"Hey, kid. How would you like to help your friend?"

* * *

_There you have it. The games have started and what was with that question at the end. Srry i sucked at ending this chapter._

_I need to inform you that the 'I love you' part is for brotherly love if you didn't know that._

_I will warn you that I will be hard to update the next few weeks. I have a band camp and then school starts soon. Thanks for reading and please review_

_~ColeInnocencAngel_


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